LOCALS TO BENEFIT FROM E250M MPAKENI ROAD TENDER

MPAKENI – In response to the outcry that the whole of Mpakeni Dam construction was awarded to foreigners alone, a provision to share the work with locals has been reached.

It has been reported that the local construction companies are set to benefit from the construction of the permanent access road in the E2.6 billion Mpakeni Dam Project. The construction of the access road will cost around E250 million and the tender for this project will be given to the local constructors as opposed to being undertaken by Sakhalive Joint Venture.
This was revealed by Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (EWADE) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Samson Sithole, when addressing members of the Editor’s Forum during a tour of the multi-billion project last Thursday.

Access

Sithole explained that while the contractor Sakhalive Joint Venture, made up of Nippon Koei, Koei Africa and ZMCK Consulting Engineers is doing the bulk of the Mpakeni Dam construction, there is an opportunity for the local companies with the E250-million worth tender of the permanent access road. The Chief Engineer of the E2.6 billion Mpakeni Dam Project, Valey Vilane, said the conditions attached to the whole project were strict and monitored by even the financier, the African Development Bank (AfDB). “We do encourage the contractor to ensure they offer tenders even to the local suppliers and we have a long list of local companies who are supplying and offering services as well. The permanent access road will go to the locals,” Vilane said.

It is worth noting that the construction of the Mpakeni Dam is still in its early stages sitting at 4.1 per cent. Vilane said at the present moment, the project had employed 412 local workers including 35 senior managers/staff. Vilane stated that the contractor, Sakhalive Joint Venture (JV) was slightly behind schedule and they were supposed to be at least at around 9 per cent.
He further stated that the delays were caused mostly by the industrial actions that have been experienced over the past few months. He stated these actions were caused mostly by issues of salaries and wages among other things.

Frame

Vilane revealed that the construction commenced in February 2024 and is targeted to be completed in 2028. He said that the target is to complete the project in 1 550 days.He shared that inasmuch as the construction was slightly behind, but he was confident that the contractor will catch up the lot time and complete the project on the stipulated time frame. The engineer stated that the job already done which include construction of management camp and offices by the site.

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